Which to use
“Pardon” and “patron” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,092
- “Pardon” frequency rank
- #26,997
- “patron” frequency rank
- 49089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Pardon | patron |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Militärjargon, die Schonung gegnerischen Lebens | Akkusativ Singular des Substantivs patro |
Where the eye mixes Pardon and patron
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Pardon and patron follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: Pardon vs patron
A purely visual mix-up. Pardon ([paʁˈdɔ̃ː]) and patron ([ˈpatron]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Pardon is recorded at frequency rank #22,092, classified as anoun, pronounced [paʁˈdɔ̃ː]. patron is at rank #26,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈpatron].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 49089, this pair ranks #1,224,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Pardon vs patron
Shared letters: anopr. Private to "Pardon": d. Private to "patron": t.
"Pardon" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "patron" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Pardon" and "patron" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Pardon" vs "patron" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Pardon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,224,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Pardon" and "patron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Paraden vs Pardon". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,224,467 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.